Amsterdam to Accra

Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » Accra
July 28th 2007

Published: August 23rd 2007

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LDUCA

Amsterdam Airport

The only view of Amsterdam I got...

Today started in the plane and the Amsterdam airport, which actually had a museum inside of it. Sarah and I also got morning cocktails to pass the time. Waiting during our 6 hour layover, we were sitting at the gate and met some native Ghanaians that lived in Italy. It was pretty cute speaking Italian to a 3 year old Ghanaian boy. On my flight to Accra I sat next to two lovely ladies, a mother and daughter, originally from Ghana but now living in the Germany. The daughter was about my age and starting business school. They were a pleasure to sit by, and quite funny. The mother was so happy to be home! It had been years for her. When the plane finally touched down, there was actually applause! People were really excited to get there. We touched down I want to say around 6:30pm or so, it was already pitch-black dark outside. We stepped down from the plane, and boarded a bus, which took us to the main airport building. From there we waited in customs for some time, and eventually grabbed our luggage. Exiting the airport was like a movie, you walked out into the area that

airport pick-me-up

(taken by Sarah) enjoying our "breakfast" in the Amsterdam airport

was fenced off more or less (short little barrier fences)… but behind the fences were swarms of people, holding signs, waiting for their loved ones. We found our CRS sign and exchanged welcomes. We were so happy to be on solid ground! Everyone was so warm and friendly, and the welcomes as well. We had several men directing us and our baggage to the cars… which was a fiasco in itself. We finally got everything situated and made it to our hotel. It was a shame everything was so dark because we could barely tell what we were driving through. Thomas was our main guide who planned and helped guide us through the country. We had dinner that night at the hotel with Thomas and his coworker Ezekiel. Both were pleasant, humorous, joyful people. For dinner that night I sampled the Ghana-brewed Guinness and the local beer Star. Quite delicious, considering I don’t normally even like beer. I dined on some jollof rice, which reminded all of us Texans of jambalaya. It was a very spicy rice (which I would soon find out would be the spice on everything…lucky for me I loved it) with beef. The beef was cooked

First Breaths of African Air...

(taken by Sarah) Straight off the plane...

with green bell peppers and carrots in this sauce that reminded me of some type of Asian cuisine I get from Hunan Emperor in Houston, but definitely much more spicy. We had live music being played that night poolside (which was close to where we were eating) so Sarah and I hit the dance floor as we waited for our meal (which would also soon learn would be very, very long no matter where we went). We were eventually joined by Elizabeth and Barbara… and finally Thomas, although Thomas does not like to dance. He was a good sport, and we all had a good time. At one point during the dinner, Thomas mentioned to Sarah that Star (the beer) stood for “Sit Together and Rejoice.” Sarah immediately started to write it down, and Thomas’ hearty laugh showed his disbelief in her actually believing him. Nonetheless, that turned into our motto for the trip (at least at dinner time) to just enjoy our company and the new relationships and knowledge that this trip would bestow upon us all. We all disbanded from dinner but I was still conversing with Thomas and Ezekiel for a few more minutes before I headed